Passed the CySA+ exam

Hi guys,

Decided to take on the CySA+ after getting the CISSP just to re-enforce my technical knowledge a bit and complement my day to day analyst tasks.

Passed the CompTIA CySA+ on the first attempt (cant remember my score, but was close to about 790ish). Previous test takers were not kidding when they said the exam is heavy on logs.

Had about 4 PBQs (2 were quite challenging but eventually figured it out) and 60-65 multiple choice questions but apparently this varies quite a bit.

Resources used:
Sybex book (Mike Chapple)
Sybex practice test book (Mike Chapple)
-Registered both in the online Wiley test bank
CySA+ Udemy Courses from Jason Dion (both the videos and additional exams)
CySA+ Practice app on the iOS store (seems like there is only one and the questions overlap quite a bit with the Sybex practice test book, but good nonetheless)

My work experience helped answer quite a few questions especially on logs and vulnerability reports, but did not underestimate the exam so ensured I prepped well for about 2-3 months after hours (1-2 hours per night), but still came across questions that were just completely over my head, probably beta.

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Comments

mikey88

Congrats!

Infosec_Sam

Hey, congratulations on the pass, and thanks for the postmortem! Just out of curiosity, what was your motivation to go after the CySA+ over something like the SSCP? I'm about at the point where I need to start deciding on an intermediate security cert, and those are both on my mind.

Johnhe0414

Congratulations! This test has been on my hit list ...

TheRedBar0n

Infosec_Sam said:

Hey, congratulations on the pass, and thanks for the postmortem! Just out of curiosity, what was your motivation to go after the CySA+ over something like the SSCP? I'm about at the point where I need to start deciding on an intermediate security cert, and those are both on my mind.

Thanks Infosec_Sam! One of the primary drivers for the CySA+ was that my Sec+ was up for renewal in a few months and seeing as I already have a CISSP cert and status, SSCP just wouldn't be worth the pursuit. Plus as mentioned in my first post I wanted to get a cert to complement my day to day tasks and technical competence, so CySA+ was a perfect cert for this need.

From a brief check it looks like there is quite some overlap between Sec+ and SSCP exam objectives whereas the CySA+ is more focused on day to day security operations with some governance garnish added.

Btw, I went straight to CISSP after my Sec+ exam even though ISC2 reps recommended I do SSCP first (like their exams are not costly enough compared to CompTIA).

TheRedBar0n

Johnhe0414 said:

Congratulations! This test has been on my hit list ...

Thank you and best of luck with the exam!

TheRedBar0n

mikey88 said:

Congrats!

Thanks!

LadyHarken

Congratulations for passing the exam, TheRedBar0n!
Im preparing to go for the exam next month in October.
However, im feeling quite inadequate ( in terms of PBQs ) to head for the exam yet.
Would you be able to suggest what i should focus more on? - eg: logs review etc
Are there any practice labs you can recommend?
Thanks!

TheRedBar0n

LadyHarken said:

Congratulations for passing the exam, TheRedBar0n!
Im preparing to go for the exam next month in October.
However, im feeling quite inadequate ( in terms of PBQs ) to head for the exam yet.
Would you be able to suggest what i should focus more on? - eg: logs review etc
Are there any practice labs you can recommend?
Thanks!

Appreciated thanks!

Do you have the Sybex CySA+ practice test book? The logs in the questions where the closest to the exam IMO.

Jason Dion's course on Udemy was also helpful. I recall he has a longish video just on log reviews and vulnerability scanning reports.